Does your primary school do this? Home visit on Day 3 of illness

[Moonshinebaby]

So my son (4 years) is off with chicken pox at the moment. This is his 3rd day of illness.

Since he's started reception in September, he's only had 2 previous sick days due to vomiting.

It's in the school's policy that they will visit a child on the 3rd day of sickness.

I thought they are bluffing, but they actually have just been around.

The lady said that it has nothing to do with my parenting, but that they need to do spot checks.

I asked and they said there are a few cases of chickenpox at the school at the moment.

Does your primary school do this?

What a tragic story.
This is absolutely when a welfare check is appropriate, but entirely different to going to the home where the parent has phoned and reported the child is unwell and when there are no other concerns.

I politely said,maybe they should enforce better handwashing while the children are in school,my children had 100% attendance up until this point.

No you don't.

Great! I now received a letter from school complaining about his attendance!

I'm fuming 😤

They get told to send them. It's stupid. File it in the recycling.

Sorry OP I had to laugh at your probably unintended pun. Spot checks! Seriously though,yes,I do recall when my DGD was at primary school (2011 - 2018) the school did actually send someone round if they were still absent due to illness after several days. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about,they just get so many parents keeping there kids off school to take them away on holiday,I suppose they just have to cover their own backs.

There is no safeguarding issue if a parent has rung and said they have CP. An ordinary absence is not grounds for concern.

What is school checking? Whether the parent is lying about illness? So this is in fact attendance policing, nothing to do with safeguarding.

If the school thinks a parent has harmed a child, they should report. Knocking on the doors of every ill child is a total waste of time and money.

There have been times when I've had an ill DC off school but they've actually been at Grandma's house being ill because Grandma is retired and happy to have them and we're both out at work, or times we've had poorly DSC here so they haven't been at their mum's which is their "registered" address with school. What would school do in that scenario - if they turn up and the child isn't there, do they phone so you can explain, or do they just assume wrongdoing?

You think all parents tell the truth at all times? Ok.

That's so odd he doesn't haven't to be in school legally atm so you could be on holiday and there's nothing they can do.

My child's in Reception and his school do checks on the 3rd day. I don't mind it as I know its a welfare check. They just knock on the door, ask to see the child and leave. They don't come in or ask 100 questions

I work in a primary school and yes, we also do this on day 3 of a child being absent (consecutive days).

My Grandsons high school did.. even though GPs letters were sent.
It was his head of year. Got invited in and saw Grandson so poorly.. but all he could do was comment on the house and how big it was and what a lovely area it was in.. then said.. being a single parent he always thought they lived in a council house on council estate..

I think this is a bit extreme, however, look what happened in the Sara Shariff cases.

I don't think my dc school does this, although we did get a phone call once when youngest hadn't turned up. Dh had got stuck in traffic doing the college run so he was late taking little one in. We had a complicated school/college run involving 3 schools and 1 car. Now we do the school run and I drop youngest off and then wait 45ish min in the cold for dh to come and get me but at least he is not late.

We got told at ds4's transition meeting before he started school that he was in hospital far too much and that we needed to get it sorted asap because his level of attendance at preschool would not be acceptable at primary school. Because of course he had only had 20 operations because we thought it would be fun

No one thinks all parents tell the truth at all times.

Doesn't make this indiscriminate door knocking a useful approach. Resources and attention need to be focused on the cases where we know or believe harm is happening.

Exactly. Important not to go down the route of there is a problem, we must do something, this is something.

You said there was no safeguarding issue if a parent has said the child is ill. Unless all parents always tell the truth, that’s nonsense. That’s all I'm saying. I’m not saying this is the best way to deal with it, just that ‘the parents says the6 are ill’ isn’t a guarantee that they are ill.

The comment about the house being in a nice area sort of confirms what I suspect about these visits - they are targeted at people based on stereotypes. I probably received one because I am a single mum and live in what is euphemistically termed an affordable area. If I was married to a doctor and living in a big detached house they probably wouldn't have assumed the worst.

I so agree 👍

I don’t think either of mine have ever had 3 consecutive days off. At DD secondary it’s 24 hours after last sickness. Her school rings by 9:15 if you haven’t reported the absence, assuming to check they haven’t gone awol!

I've been visited by the Head and Deputy Head together. Unannounced I was working from home looking dishevelled and unwashed in my pjs.
Yes he was still poorly. No we are not at Disneyland.
Felt awful and judged, like they didn't believe what I had said about his illness.

He'd been off for 10 days within 3 months of the new term - covid and chicken pox. Perhaps if others had been more responsible and didn't send in their sick kids, I wouldn't have needed that welfare check!

Ours never have. I wouldn't mind if they did though.

Exactly

My Ds was in college aged 16 - he walked out distressed… I complained they never informed me - apparently they didn’t have time to inform every parent every time a child walked out .

i do think there will be lots children at relatives homes as parents need to work .

i also agree with the poster the blanket policy is a lazy policy